Current Sport Fishing Report
September 14, 2009
Chinook Salmon
There were no king salmon encountered by creel technicians in Sitka last week. The 5-year average for king salmon during the second week of September is 105 rod hours per king salmon harvested.
Synopsis of the 2009 Southeast Alaska King Salmon Derbies
(Unofficial listing of ports, dates, and leading/winning fish)
The unofficial winner of the Juneau Spring King Salmon Derby held each May was a 34.75 lb (dressed out) fish.
Wrangell’s salmon derby started up May 9 and ran through June 7, and the unofficial winning fish weighed in at 53.4 lb.
Petersburg 4-day salmon derby started May 22 and wrapped up on May 25, with the unofficial winning fish being a 59.8 lb fish. The 225 Chinooks salmon entered into the 2009 Petersburg derby is 59% below the recent 5-year average of 555 entered fish, and substantially lower than record 702 fish entered in the 2006 Petersburg derby.
Sitka’s salmon derby held May 23-25 and May 30-31 was won by a 56.6 lb fish, and had 401 fish entered which is 50% less than the recent 5-year average of 801 entered fish for the two weekends of the Sitka derby.
The Haines salmon derby held May 23-25 and May 30-31 was won by a 33.90 lb fish, with 31 fish entered.
Ketchikan’s salmon derby ended on Sunday, June 7th, with the winning fish being a 44.2 lb Chinook salmon. An unofficial total of 868 fish were entered during the 3 weekend long event, which is 19% less than the five-year average of 1,077 fish total fish entered in the derby
Pelican’s salmon derby occurred during June 5-7 and June 12-14, with a 38.8 lb (dressed out) fish winning the derby.
Juneau’s Golden North Salmon derby was held during August 14-16 and was won by a 28.6 pound lb fish.
Best wishes to all anglers whom did or are endeavoring to catch the winning fish in the 2009 SE Alaska sport fish salmon derbies.
Coho Salmon
Anglers last week averaged 11 rod hours per coho salmon harvested; this is 10 hours more than the 5-year average of 1 rod hour per coho salmon harvested during the second week of September. Coho are being found in most areas fished.
Pink and Chum Salmon
There were no pink or chum salmon encountered by creel technicians in Sitka last week. The 5-year average for pink and chum salmon during the second week of September is 174 and 48 rod hours per pink and chum salmon harvested.
Halibut
Anglers last week averaged 10 rod hours per halibut harvested; this is 6 hours more than the 5-year average of 4 rod hours per halibut harvested during the second week of September. The most successful areas for halibut have been the outer coast of Kruzof Island and the outer islands near Biorka.
Lingcod OPEN
Northern Southeast and Yakutat Areas
Season: May 16 – June 15 and August 16 – November 30.
Limits:
- Residents – 1 daily 2 in possession, no size limit.
- Nonresidents – 1 daily, 1 in possession, size limit: 30 inches or greater in length and less than 35 inches in length, or 55 inches or greater in length. Annual limit of 2 fish, one of which is 30 to 35 inches in length, one of which is 55 inches or greater in length, nonresident anglers shall immediately record, in ink, all lingcod harvested either on the back of their sport fishing license or on a nontransferable harvest record.
Charter operators and crew members may not retain lingcod while clients are on board the vessel.
Rockfish
Dolly Varden
Dolly Varden fishing along the roadside/shoreline is fair.
Trout
Local streams are producing fair catches of trout.
All anglers are responsible for knowing the current regulations for the area that they will be fishing. Regulation summaries and copies of the most recent regulatory changes are available at the Sitka ADF&G office and online.
For further information, please feel free to contact Troy Tydingco, Sitka Area Management Biologist, at (907) 747-5355.
